Market Overview

Transplantation immunosuppression

There are a number of immunosuppressive drugs, such as tacrolimus, sirolimus, cyclosporine, mycophenolate mofetil, and azathioprine, which are used in combination therapies to inhibit the immune system. Tacrolimus is one of the most potent in terms of suppression of the immune system and is regarded as the gold standard of immunosuppressant therapy.

In 2010, the immunosuppression market for transplant patients in the US, Japan, the UK, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain totaled USD 5 billion (source: IMS). With sales of approximately USD 2.8 billion, calcineurin inhibitors, the leading class to which LCP-Tacro™ belongs, accounted for more than half of the total market.

Three products-Prograf®, CellCept®, and Neoral®-represent the cornerstones of modern immunosuppressant regimens. With worldwide sales of approximately USD 2 billion in 2010, tacrolimus (Prograf®/Advagraf®) is currently the market-leading immunosuppressant drug.

In 2009, over 50,000 organ transplants were conducted in the US, Japan, the UK, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. The compound annual growth rate for the organ transplant market is forecasted to be more than 2% during 2010 through 2020.